KLM social seating

I really love to travel! Earth has so many beautiful places I have to see. I already visited some beautiful countries, such as Aruba, Greece, Portugal and Spain. I want to make some nice citytrips like London, Lisbon, Paris and Berlin, but I feel some connection with long journeys. I would like to see Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Maledives, Bora Bora, Curacao, Barbados, ,Tanzania, Mexico and the USA. Only disadventage about this destinations is the time you have to travel, especially if you are travelling all by yourself. Subsequently, KLM found something to solve that problem!

http://www.arabiangazette.com

What is it?
KLM has introduces a new concept, social seating. It’s going to be a service to help you find your perfect fellow passenger. Passengers will be able to link their social media accounts, like facebook and twitter. On this base, a  passanger can select his fellow pessenger with similarities.

Why is it cool?
It’s good to see such a large and formal company like KLM starts using social media. This is a big step and I think other airlines will follow soon. Travellers can reassure each other, have a nice talk, and they can also combine their travel plans. As you can see, the influence of web 2.0 (the social network) is getting bigger and bigger!

Caire

Last week we had an guest-college at school, from the Caretakers, Coen and Maaike.

These two people have been ill by themselves, and they noticed they really could use some more help, during their illness and rehabilation. The demand for care is huge, bigger than the group op health professionals. Another problem is the low budget for care in the Netherlands.

What is it?

The caretakers introduced a new platform: Caire.nu

You can ask and offer here your help. This is an example of how Caire works:

”Els is a single mother with breast cancer. She has a problem, tomorrow she has to go to the hospital for her fourth chemotherapy treatment, but she hasn’t any form of transportation.

”Els’ friend told her about http://www.caire.nu . Els decided to register to try to solve the problem.
Now, Els is using the social network to demand for transport.  

”Joop is retired and he wants to do something for the society, occassinally and not on a regular base. 
Joop also decided to apply http://www.caire.nu . Joop loves driving and he indicates that he would like to help people who need transportation.”

”Caire links patients and helpers. And so, Joop and Els linked. Both of them receive an message automatically. They can indicate whether they agree this service. Once that’s done, Joop is ready to take Els to the hospital.”

Why is this cool?

I think this is very unique, because it’s a big network of help askers and givers all over the Netherlands. The patient doesn’t have to worry if the caregiver really wants to help him, otherwise he had not offered his help to Caire. Caregivers can do something for the society, in their own spare time. I think it’s very cool that there is something developed in our society, trough Web 2.0 (social media), where help can be exchanged. So, the social network even has affect on people’s health.

 This is an great initiative by Coen and Maaike, and I wish them all the succes with Caire!

Volvo mobile app

Today just another web 2.0 coolhunt, about the volvo mobile apps.

google

Volvo has several applications for iphone, ipad and android smartphones.
Each volvo model has its own app. The app allows you to style the car from in and outside.
So you can create your own favourite combinations. You can see a preview of your car here. You can use the app to stay updated of volvo news and upcoming cars. You can also reservate a test drive at a dealer near you by this application.

But.. this was just the beginning. From the new model year 2012, they will introduce a new app with exceptional features.

This app let you find your parked car and close and opens your windows en doors from distance. There were already independent apps to find your parked car, but this new app has a innovating solution for you. You can let the indicators and the horn work for a while to find your parked care. The fun of this app is also that how more features the car has, the more options the app has. For example, if you have a more luxurious version of the car, with climate control, you can use it from distance. So the car is warm or cold when you start driving it.

google

This app can also be a log with information of each trip of the past 40 days. This information can be downloadedin Excel spreadsheet, which is very useful for businessmen.

Why is it cool?
It offers the ability to remotely control your car, so through Web 2.0 (social web) you can remote your car. I also think it’s cool because I never heard of it’s an extra luxury for the driver. I think these features the attractivity of volvo.

Diet2go

I spotted this diet app this weekend, when I was looking for some nice apps in the android store for my dad’s HTC desire. I have a blackberry, so there aren’t many apps I can use *sadface*. This app is available for android phones, Iphones and soon for Ovi phones.

www.cssmania.com

What is it?
This is an diet app for your smartphone.  You have to answer a couple of questions and after that you can choose a diet.

Every week there are new food schedules, and you can make an online shoppinglist. And last but not least, the program gives you many tips and tricks for weightloss, which can motivate you.

Why is it cool?

I definitely think this free, English, diet-app is a great invention.
In these days, many people are too fat and have too much weight. Many people are working on that with a diet. But in these days people are always busy, so somethimes it’s difficult to think about dieting. Meantime, many people have smartphones, which they use all day.
Using this app can help you to keep you motivated.

This app is available in the Android market and in the iTunes store.
You can read more about this app on http://www.diet2goapp.com/